Sad Song

You might not expect an artist who refers to Italian painter Botticelli in one song to quote Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" in another--let alone pull it off. But in his show at the Roxy on Tuesday, singer-songwriter Jude made his every quirky tangent seem natural. First performing solo with acoustic guitar, then backed by a trio, the L.A.-based musician sang in an agile, guileless voice that soared into flawless falsetto for emotional or comic effect.

Last fall, George Strait revealed that he plans to retire from the road following his so-called Cowboy Rides Away Tour, which concludes its 2013 leg with a sold-out gig June 1 at San Antonio's 72,000-capacity Alamodome. (The Texas native is to resume the trek next year for one final string of concerts.) "I just don't want to go to the point where I show up and nobody else does," he told CBS News at the time of his announcement. "It's been great. I've been doing it for 30-some-odd years and I've loved it. Sometimes I've not liked it as much.

The saddest songs sometimes hit the ear so lightly and sweetly, you mistake their tears for laughter. But maybe it's no mistake: Perhaps hearts breaking in three-quarter time bubble up with a secret merriment. Fernando Solanas' "Tangos: The Exile of Gardel" (Beverly Center Cineplex) is a sad song that plays like a musical romp. It mixes your responses, scrambles your vision. It's a thoroughly unpredictable, singingly mad film that sways with fumed, nightmare logic toward a hopeful conclusion.

Pham Duy, Vietnam's most prolific songwriter, who captured the strength of his people through years of turbulence and composed dozens of tunes after settling in California, died Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City. He was 91. His death was confirmed by his daughter Thai Hanh. He had been suffering from heart ailments after two operations, according to his family. Known as the "musician of 1,000 songs," Pham was revered by generations of Vietnamese, who memorized his melodies and taught them to their children and grandchildren.

For musician Richard (Moon) Calhoun, the irony strikes as forcefully as the lyrics to a sad song: Here is this 41-year-old drummer, singer and songwriter who survived years of hard drinking, drugs and crazy living in the manic Los Angeles rock music scene, reached rock-bottom and decided to bulldoze his bad habits for good. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous, later settled down with his wife, June, in Van Nuys and began to write new and inspired songs in his tiny bedroom-turned-recording studio.

A wobbling line separating elation from demoralization was tugging at the Dodgers throughout Friday night's 10-inning, 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. When it was finally over, the Dodgers just seemed stunned.

Singer and songwriter Mindy Smith knows too well the mixed emotions that can come with losing a loved one. When Smith was 19, her mother died of cancer, a loss she explored to great critical acclaim on her 2004 debut album, “One Moment More,” which earned her a place alongside respected singer-songwriters such as Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams. Loss and recovery have been strong themes on her subsequent releases, "Long Island Shores” in 2006 and 2009's “Stupid Love.” She returns to that theme, from a slightly different perspective, on her new collection, “Mindy Smith,” which was released in June on her own Giant Leap Records label.

Pham Duy, Vietnam's most prolific songwriter, who captured the strength of his people through years of turbulence and composed dozens of tunes after settling in California, died Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City. He was 91. His death was confirmed by his daughter Thai Hanh. He had been suffering from heart ailments after two operations, according to his family. Known as the "musician of 1,000 songs," Pham was revered by generations of Vietnamese, who memorized his melodies and taught them to their children and grandchildren.

LONDON - The opening ceremony had ended. The image of the majestic fireworks still lingered. And then came the biggest bang of all: Our double-decker media shuttle bus hit an overpass. Standing passengers lurched forward. Glass from the upper level cracked but didn't shatter, leading one to believe that those who decided to stack a second level on this city's distinctive vehicles accounted for such mishaps. A security official quickly boarded and asked all to evacuate. Nobody was hurt, save for some fatigue-induced crabbiness.

Tom REYNOLDS' friends had to have been worried. After all, he spent the better part of the past year listening to the most depressing songs in the world. He listened to 200 versions of "Send In the Clowns." He listened to everything the Cure ever recorded. He listened to countless tales of shipwrecks, plane wrecks and emotional train wrecks. He listened to songs of Christmases so woeful that they'd make Santa Claus reach for the Zoloft. But his suffering had a happy outcome.

The new Lavender Diamond album started out as a solo disc by frontwoman Becky Stark that was to be called - wait for it - "Agony, Agony, Agony. " "It became like a joke," said Stark over lunch last week in Los Feliz. She was wearing a vintage floral-print dress that suggested nostalgia for a simpler time, though she compulsively checked her iPhone too, firming up details for an East Coast tour scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Wrecked by a bad breakup years after the release of her Los Angeles band's 2007 debut album, the singer had funneled her feelings of agony into recordings she made with Jonathan Wilson and Nate Walcott, local scenesters known for their involvement in work by Bright Eyes and Dawes.

Singer and songwriter Mindy Smith knows too well the mixed emotions that can come with losing a loved one. When Smith was 19, her mother died of cancer, a loss she explored to great critical acclaim on her 2004 debut album, “One Moment More,” which earned her a place alongside respected singer-songwriters such as Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams. Loss and recovery have been strong themes on her subsequent releases, "Long Island Shores” in 2006 and 2009's “Stupid Love.” She returns to that theme, from a slightly different perspective, on her new collection, “Mindy Smith,” which was released in June on her own Giant Leap Records label.

LONDON - The opening ceremony had ended. The image of the majestic fireworks still lingered. And then came the biggest bang of all: Our double-decker media shuttle bus hit an overpass. Standing passengers lurched forward. Glass from the upper level cracked but didn't shatter, leading one to believe that those who decided to stack a second level on this city's distinctive vehicles accounted for such mishaps. A security official quickly boarded and asked all to evacuate. Nobody was hurt, save for some fatigue-induced crabbiness.

Janet Jackson's hit single "Nothing" ? the theme song from Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too?" ? is generating almost as much Oscar buzz as it feels riddled with grief. Jackson learned of her brother Michael's death while filming the movie in Atlanta, before she had recorded the song. Even though Jackson says "Nothing" is not about her brother, whom she won't talk about much these days, the song's melancholy and emotional grit leads one to wonder. It's no stretch to think that Jackson, who's known for having a particularly strong work ethic and occasionally losing herself in creative projects during turbulent times, was channeling the fallout of her personal tragedy into her music.

The 2009 version of Beatlemania had no screams, no fainting and little hysteria. But there were plenty of smiles on the faces of fans indulging their fondness for the music of the Fab Four as the Beatles: Rock Band and a batch of new and improved CDs of their complete catalog went on sale Wednesday. "I always liked the Beatles," said Theresa Gordon, 48, who trekked from Lake Arrowhead to a Best Buy store in West Los Angeles with her four children, three of whom made a beeline for the Beatles: Rock Band setup and tackled "I Am the Walrus."

Jack Ely, the singer whose 1963 version of "Louie Louie" still makes the rounds on oldies radio, lives with his wife in a mobile home on a horse ranch in Oregon. Ely says they share $30,000 a year from her teacher's pension and his Social Security checks. They are paying down a mortgage. So sometimes it bothers Ely, 65, when he hears his voice singing "Louie Louie" on the radio or in sports arenas, knowing he's not getting paid.

Last fall, George Strait revealed that he plans to retire from the road following his so-called Cowboy Rides Away Tour, which concludes its 2013 leg with a sold-out gig June 1 at San Antonio's 72,000-capacity Alamodome. (The Texas native is to resume the trek next year for one final string of concerts.) "I just don't want to go to the point where I show up and nobody else does," he told CBS News at the time of his announcement. "It's been great. I've been doing it for 30-some-odd years and I've loved it. Sometimes I've not liked it as much.

Janet Jackson's hit single "Nothing" ? the theme song from Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too?" ? is generating almost as much Oscar buzz as it feels riddled with grief. Jackson learned of her brother Michael's death while filming the movie in Atlanta, before she had recorded the song. Even though Jackson says "Nothing" is not about her brother, whom she won't talk about much these days, the song's melancholy and emotional grit leads one to wonder. It's no stretch to think that Jackson, who's known for having a particularly strong work ethic and occasionally losing herself in creative projects during turbulent times, was channeling the fallout of her personal tragedy into her music.

The name J. Tillman isn't going to ring any bells for most people, but the 27-year-old songwriter -- with little fanfare, no managers and no major label -- has recorded five devastatingly introspective albums over the course of as many years. With his newest, "Vacilando Territory Blues," out now from Western Vinyl, and a back catalog available through iTunes, Joshua Tillman might soon have a few more ears leaned in his direction. His 2008 tour of Europe and Australia as the new drummer for the critically praised Fleet Foxes certainly helped.

Michael Ball, a British stage actor and singer, was watching a performance of traditional Christmas songs at a London drama school this month when the students unwrapped Joni Mitchell's 1971 song "River." Ball says he was somewhat startled, given that "River" isn't really a Christmas song.